How do friends work?
by Twin Cats
Summary: When a pair of bullies offer to become Papyrus' friend, they tell him that he has to find a treasure hidden in a cave somewhere in Hotland. Unfortunately, Sans is also dragged into this mess thanks to his brother. As much as Papyrus wants friends, is it really worth it to put himself and his brother in danger?
1. Chapter 1

_**Welp...what better way to fight boredom then to write fanfiction? I will mention this: Sans and Papyrus are both 8 in this. One other thing I will mention:**_

 _*Sans will only speak in italics_

 ***Papyrus will only speak in bold.**

*And Gaster will only speak with underlines

 _ **So with that out of the way, let's get started.**_

* * *

It was a nice day in New Home. Monsters were going about their business, walking along the grey pavement below them.

A pair of small siblings were walking behind an alley, both of which happened to be skeletons. They were roughly the same height as each other, as well as the same age. The younger skeleton wore a yellow shirt with orange stripes and a red scarf wrapped around his neck. This skeleton wore red gloves and held onto a stuffed rabbit. The older skeleton, wore a long blue sweater with white stripes. His sleeves were often dragging across the ground and the end of the sweater hung over his knees. This skeleton also had two cracks on his face, both of which were covered by bandages.

The two skeletons stopped walking. The younger one, Papyrus, looked around anxiously. **"Nobody's here, right?"**

 _"nope,"_ said the older skeleton, simply named Sans. _"nobody's here besides us."_

 **"Great,"** Papyrus said, placing his stuffed bunny against the wall. **"Now Fluffy Bunny gets to see us in action!"**

 _"only if your magic awakens,"_ Sans interrupted. Papyrus rolled his eye sockets. **"I know, I know..."**

 _"great, then you know exactly what to do!"_ Sans said as his soul began to glow. Papyrus' soul began to glow as well, indicating that he was pulled into a battle. Papyrus decided to check on his brother.

 _ ***1 HP, 1 ATK, 1 DF.**_

 **"A-are you sure about this?"** Papyrus asked, **"I could end up turning you into dust!"**

 _"i'll be fine,"_ Sans said nonchalantly, _"and it's not like i haven't gotten hurt, before!"_

 **"B-but we're- ACK!"**

Papyrus dodged as Sans started to throw bones at him. He tried to summon some bones himself, but he couldn't do anything. He tried to mimic his brother's movements, but that didn't work either. This went on for a while until both brothers had gotten out of breath. Out of everything in that fight, Papyrus was hit with only three bones, only losing 3 hp.

 **"Hey, Sans? I don't think it's working!"**

 _"huh..."_ Sans shrugged as he sat down on the floor, his soul had stopped glowing. _"well, i guess there's nothing we can do."_

 **"YOU'RE JUST GONNA QUIT LIKE THAT!?"** Papyrus yelled as he placed his hands on his hips. His soul had also stopped glowing. Sans snorted in response, _"well, i could start using gaster blasters on ya, but i still have no idea how to use them."_

 **"SANS!"**

 _"hey, it's not like i'm an expert on magic or anything,"_ Sans said, standing up. He wrapped an arm around his brother's back. _"but who knows? once your magic awakens, you might even be stronger then king asgore!"_

 **"That...might be possible, "** Papyrus said, placing a gloved hand over his jaw. **"But won't that mean I'm stronger then Dad, as well?"**

 _"you'd be stronger then me, that's for sure."_

 **"Hey, don't say that!"** Papyrus argued, **"Just 'cause you're fragile doesn't mean you're weak! I mean, I've seen you come up with really cool-looking strategies!"**

 _"c'mon, pap...i'm not that great,_ " Sans said, modestly.

 **"Well...once I learn how to use magic, I'll be able to come up with even cooler strategies,"** Papyrus said in response. **"In the mean time, I'll just keep being you're cool brother shield!"**

 _"i-if you say so..."_

Papyrus walked over to the wall where his stuffed bunny was and picked it up. He ran over to his brother. **"All right, let's go home!"**

Sans nodded as he and Papyrus began to head back home. Knowing their father. he must be worried sick by now.

* * *

Walking along the streets of New Home, Sans had a sleeved hand on his jaw, his eyes were partially closed. _"whaddaya think dad's gonna be making, tonight? maybe a quiche? or hamburgers? i dunno..."_

Sans looked over at Papyrus, the younger skeleton was looking down at the pavement. Sans noticed his brother didn't look too happy.

 _"something wrong, pap?"_

 **"Well...it sounds kind of stupid,"** Papyrus said, anxiously looking away.

 _"What are you talking about?"_ Sans asked, lowering his eyelids. Papyrus continued to look away. **"D-do you think I'm...weird?"**

 _"in what sense?"_ Sans asked.

 **"So you do think I'm weird!"**

 _"only in a good way,"_ Sans assured him. _"i mean, you're talking to someone who drinks ketchup straight from the bottle!"_

 **"I know, but...do you think we'll be able to become popular enough to have friends?"**

 _"pap, we've been over this-"_

 **"I know, but look at Dad,"** Papyrus interrupted, **"He has this science thing going on with him and he's got plenty of friends at the lab."**

 _"um...i'm pretty sure they're just his lab assistants."_

 **"Oh, whatever,"** Papyrus said bitterly. **"But...at least I still have you to hang around with, right?"**

"Well, losers have to stick together...right, Rattles?"

Sans fell onto his backside as someone stepped on his sleeve. The skeletons looked behind them, there were two monsters. One of them was a round, horned monster, her giant eye turning into a sinister grin. She was an Astigmatism. The other monster was a small orange dragon, his leg was on Sans' sleeve.

"Careful, Brittles...you don't want to break your tailbone," Said the Astigmatism in a cold voice.

"You know, Sclara...he's probably broken his leg, already!" The dragon replied, "I wouldn't be suprised!"

Sans started to growl, his pupils disappeared from his eye sockets.

Papyrus had a blank expression, he held tightly onto Fluffy Bunny. **"Y'know, Ricky...you'd probably have a lot more friends if you weren't so mean!"**

"What was that, Rattles? I can't speak loser!"

 **"Now now, no need to say such things about yourself!"** Papyrus replied. Sans couldn't help but snicker at his brother's comment.

Sclara looked at Ricky, her mouth once again turning into an eyeball. "You know, maybe he's right. Maybe we should be a little nicer to these chumps!"

"Hm..." Ricky placed a claw on his chin as he began to think. "I don't know...are they even good enough to be our friend?"

Sans chuckled. _"ha! like we're desperate enough to-"_

 **"I can be your friend!"** Papyrus yelled, causing Sans to give him a dirty look. _"pap, why-"_

"Great," Ricky took his foot off of Sans' sleeve. "But if you really want to be our friend, then you'll have to get something for us."

 **"I'll get you anything,"** Papyrus said excitedly, **"Please, just tell me what I have to do!"**

 _"papyrus!"_ Sans grumbled through his teeth, trying helplessly to gain his brother's attention.

Sclara walked over to the skeletons, her arms waving daintily over her sides. "You see, there's a rumor going around that there's a hidden cave somewhere in Hotland. In that cave's s'posed to be an amazing treasure."

 **"OK...so where's the cave?"** Papyrus asked, his curiosity instantly piqued. He heard Ricky and Sclara snickering.

"This cave's said to be hiding behind a lava stream," Ricky said as smoke came out of his snout. "Think of this like one of those hidden caves behind a waterfall, but with lava instead."

"If you can get that treasure, then we can become friends," Sclara said, revealing her teeth, once more.

Papyrus placed a hand over his chest as an imaginary wind made his scarf flutter. **"Don't worry, new friends...Sans and I will take care of everything!"**

Sans' bones rattled, he grabbed Papyrus by the arm and walked behind a nearby street lamp. _"Pap... ? Can I talk to you, privately?"_

Papyrus tilted his head as Sans dragged him behind a nearby street lamp. He noticed his brother's pupils were missing.. **"What's the matter?"**

 _"that's not how friends work, papyrus!"_ Sans grumbled, _"you know they're gonna be up to something!"_

 **"And how do you know?"** Papyrus argued, **"don't you think that maybe they actually want to be friends with us?"**

 _"i want nothing to do with them!"_

 **"Well, if you don't want to have friends, then why didn't you say something?"**

 _"I NEVER SAID THAT I DIDN'T WANT FRIENDS!"_ Sans yelled, causing nearby monsters to look at the twin skeletons.

Papyrus sighed, **"Well, don't you still want to go see the treasure, at least?"**

 _"i still think it's a bad idea!"_ Sans argued. Papyrus began to pout, crossing his arms as Fluffy Bunny dropped to the ground. **"I see, and I thought my brother would've loved to explore...but I guess he's just too boring!"**

 _"what do you mean i'm boring!?"_

 **"You're just too boring...all you do is lay around and read those boring science books."**

 _"it's not my fault that Dad barely reads any of them!"_

Papyrus continued to pout, looking away from his brother.

 _"pap, please...you know i'm not boring...we've known each other our whole lives, for cryin' out loud!"_

No answer. Papyrus continued to pout all while giving his brother the silent treatment. Sans groaned as he threw his arms in defeat. _"ok, you win!"_

 **"I'm glad you finally see it my way, Sans,"** Papyrus said as he picked Fluffy Bunny off the ground. Sans rubbed the back of his skull. _"still, i think we should tell dad about this."_

 **"That's a good idea,"** Papyrus said happily, **"I'm sure Dad would approve of this!"**

The two skeletons began to make their way through New Home once again...Although Sans still felt suspicious about this "treasure".

* * *

The lights around New Home began to grow dim as night time came. It was dark enough for monsters to be able to sleep, yet it was light enough for monsters to find their way back home.

In one of the apartments, a skeleton was looking through a cook book as he was stirring elbow noodles in the pot...without water. This skeleton was...odd, to say the least. He had two cracks on his skull. One of them ran upwards along his right eye socket (which could barely open). The other crack went from his left eye socket down to his crooked-looking smile. He was wearing a long black robe that touched the floor. The skeleton was simply known as Wingdings Gaster.

Gaster heard the front door open, he saw Sans and Papyrus walk into the living room, exhausted. He walked into the living room, forgetting about the pot of noodles on the stove.

(You certainly took longer to get home then expected), Gaster signed, (Is everything all right?)

 _"everything's fine,"_ Sans replied, _"we just had a long day, today."_

 **"Hey, Dad? Can we go to Hotland, later?"** Papyrus asked. Gaster gave Papyrus an odd look. (But did you not just get home? It's almost time for dinner.)

 **"Oh..."** Papyrus' smile faltered, **"Then can we go to Hotland, tomorrow?"**

Gaster shook his head, giving Papyrus a stern look, (You two have school tomorrow, so no!)

Sans looked around, his pupils seemed to be focused on the burning pot in the kitchen. _"hey, dad? are we having pizza, again?"_

(What makes you say that?)

The skeletons heard the smoke alarm go off, Sans' pupils has shrunk in surprise. _"oh...no reason!"_

(Excuse me), Gaster signed quickly as he raced into the kitchen, Sans could hear his father panicking in the other room.

Papyrus pulled on his brother's sleeves. **"Hey, Sans?"**

 _"yeah, bro?"_

 **"How do we get to Hotland, now? I mean, we can't just skip school, can we?"**

Sans shook his head, _"nope...i've got a better idea."_

Papyrus' eye sockets widened. **"What is it?"**

 _"we sneak out as soon as dad falls asleep,"_ Sans said with a more mischievous grin. _"after that, we should be able to sneak in and out of hotland before it's morning!"_

 **"SANS, THAT'S GENIUS!"**

 _"SHH!"_ Sans placed a sleeved hand over Papyrus' mouth _, "but we gotta be quiet about this. capiche?"_

Papyrus nodded in understanding as his brother let his sleeves touch the ground. The younger skeleton began to spit dirt out of his mouth. **"Sans, you really need to wear something smaller!"**

 _"i fit just fine in this,"_ Sans argued, _"but remember, once dad's asleep, we're heading over to hotland!"_

 **"Gotcha!"**

Both skeletons nodded in agreement before looking over at their father, he had a defeated look on his face.

(I guess we will be having pizza, tonight...)

* * *

 _ **And that ends chapter 1. I'll put chapters 2 and 3 up whenever**_ **I can.**


	2. Chapter 2

_**Welp, it's time to go to Hotland...I guess?**_

* * *

The time was 11:27, Papyrus was waiting patiently in his bed. He hadn't even changed into his pajamas, yet. In the bed next to his, Sans had already dozed off, he was wearing a white nightshirt.

The small skeleton decided to tuck Fluffy Bunny in, like a parent would to their child. **"You can guard the bed for me while I'm gone."**

Papyrus snuck out of his room, tip-toeing along the floor to peak into his father's room. What he saw was a long mass covered in blankets.

 **"Dad...?"** Papyrus whispered. There was no response from Gaster. Papyrus closed the door gently, as to not wake his father. He began heading back to his room, standing besides his brother's bed. Without hesitation, he placed a hand on Sans' shoulder and started shaking him.

 **"Sans, wake up!"**

 _"hmf...?"_

 **"Sans? Sans!"**

 _"whu..."_ Sans sat up on his bed, his eye sockets were barely open. _"what time is it?"_

 **"It's 11:30,"** Papyrus replied, **"C'mon, we've gotta get to Hotland."**

 _"mmf..."_ Sans began to rub his eye sockets as he jumped out of bed. He grabbed a nearby robe and some slippers. Curious, Papyrus decided to check on his brother. The plus side of sleeping is that it can temporarily increase someone's hp, and Sans' hp had increased to 11. It wasn't much, but Papyrus thought that every little bit helped. After all, better safe then sorry.

 _"so are we ready?"_ Sans asked. Papyrus nodded in response. **"Ready as I'll ever be!"**

The skeletons began to sneak through the apartment, making their way through the front door. Once they were in the hallway, Papyrus began to giggle in excitement.

 _"shh!"_ Sans placed a bony finger in front of his mouth, _"we gotta keep quiet, we don't want any adults to come and find us!"_

 **"Oh yeah..."** Papyrus said, looking down at his feet. Sans grabbed his brother's hand as he began to lead Papyrus out of the building. _"just focus on staying quiet for now, all right?"_

 **"All right,"** Papyrus replied as he and his brother headed into an elevator.

* * *

Both brothers quietly made their way through New Home. Since there weren't many monsters out during the night, it was easy for Sans and Papyrus to get to the elevator leading to Hotland. The searing hot magma and the various steam vents in the area were somewhat familiar to the skeletons. While Sans didn't mind it too much, Papyrus had always felt annoyed by the heat in the area.

...despite the fact that skeletons had a hard time feeling temperature.

The duo walked into another elevator. Sans began to feel claustrophobic as his bones began to rattle.

 **"You're sick of seeing these elevators everywhere, aren't you?"**

 _"w-well, yeah...it feels like i'm coming **down** with something!"_

 **"Oh my god, Sans!"** Papyrus yelled as he placed a hand over his face.

 _"...but seriously,"_ Sans said as he sat down on his knees. _"i'm starting to feel sick!"_

Papyrus started rubbing his brother's back in an attempt to calm him down. While skeletons couldn't vomit, they could still feel nauseated. Once the elevator reached the lowest level in Hotland, Papyrus grabbed his brother's hand and lead him out of the elevator.

 **"Are you feeling any better?"**

Sans nodded quickly as he tried to stand up. He almost fell over, but Papyrus held onto him to keep him from falling.

 _"welp...i guess i'm getting kind of... **SICK** of all this!"_

 **"I could drop you at any time you know!"**

 _"please don't!"_ Sans protested. _"no more jokes, all right?_

 **"Do you promise?"**

 _"pap, you know i don't-"_

 **"Do you promise that you won't do more jokes?"**

 _"all right, fine!"_ Sans said, rolling his eye sockets. _"I promise!"_

Once Sans' nausea subsided, the skeletons began to look around. According to Ricky and Sclara, the treasure was hiding inside a cave behind a stream of magma. Papyrus began to scan the area, he looked down from one of the ledges, he could see the cave hiding behind the small stream of magma. It was near the laboratory.

"This way!" Papyrus yelled as he slid down the slope to a lower ground. Sans followed after him, staying close to his brother.

This was possibly the closest any monster would be able to reach magma (besides fire monsters, of course!). Even to a skeleton, the heat felt unbearable. It felt like they could melt like a couple of popsicles in a frying pan.

The skeletons walked inside the cave, it was hotter inside then it was outside. They could see small pools of magma, along with a couple of wilted echo flowers.

 _"well...? what do you think?"_ Sans looked at Papyrus nervously. The skeleton wasn't sure how to respond.

 **"W-we're already here,"** Papyrus replied, **"We may as well keep going."**

The younger skeleton began to head deeper into the cave. Sans, however, decided to check the echo flowers. They spoke feebly, but the skeleton tried to listen to them as best as he could.

 **"We...may...as-"**

 **"-...well...keep...going..."**

"...really...think...they're..."

Sans blinked, he thought he had heard someone else's voice. It was hard to tell, given how weak the flowers were.

 **"HEY, SANS!"**

The skeleton looked over at Papyrus, who was calling out to him. **"AREN'T YOU COMING WITH ME?"**

Sans gave the flowers one last look before following Papyrus, again. Still, he had to wonder...was someone already here, before?

* * *

The brothers continued to walk deeper into the cave, it was starting to get darker as they kept going. They came across a small pool of magma, rocks formed over it like stepping stones.

Both skeletons knew what they had too do, it would be like jumping on stones sitting in a pond. But in this case, it was a lot more dangerous, one mistake could kill either of them.

 _"don't worry, i got this!"_ Sans said as he gave himself a running start. He jumped on one of the rocks. Papyrus rattled anxiously. **"Be careful, Sans!"**

Sans was standing on one of the rocks, the skeleton took a deep breath and hopped onto the second rock...and then the third rock...and then the fourth rock. He almost lost his footing when he jumped onto the fifth rock, screaming in terror as he rapidly waved his arms to regain his balance. He had already lost one of his slippers to the magma.

 **"Are you OK?"** Papyrus asked, concerned. Sans' bones rattled a bit, he looked over at Papyrus. _"i-i'm f-fine, don't w-worry about it!"_

The skeleton took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. He jumped onto the other side of the magma pool. He looked over at Papyrus, fear still present in his eyes. _"you know, i can just pull you over here with blue magic if you want!"_

 **"Don't worry,"** Papyrus said, trying to sound confident, " **I can do this! I'm the Great Papyrus, after all!** "

Papyrus began to jump onto the first rock. He looked down at the magma below him. If he had a stomach, he would have felt it drop.

 _"papyrus!"_

The skeleton looked over at Sans.

 _"whatever you do, don't look down! Just take a deep breath!"_

"A-all right," Papyrus stuttered. Like Sans had told him, he began to take a deep breath. He tried to jump onto the next rock, but his jump was too short, was about to touch the magma below him. He closed his eyes, ready to accept his fate.

 _"PAP, NO!"_

Papyrus suddenly began to feel lighter, he noticed his soul had turned blue. He looked over at Sans, who was pulling him over to safety using what Papyrus had always assumed was blue magic.

Once Papyrus reached the other side of the lava pool, both brothers began to cling to each other like they could turn to dust at any second.

 **"Sans, I'm sorry!"** Papyrus yelled, trying to hold himself together.

 _"i-it's all right,"_ Sans said as he gently headbutted Papyrus' skull. _"but once we get home, we're never coming back down here!"_

 **"Agreed!"**

Both brothers began to head deeper into the cave. Chills ran through their spines as they kept moving. They kept a close eye on one another in case anything like that were to happen again.

* * *

Again, the cave had gotten darker. At this point, the only light present came from Sans' pupils. He held tightly onto Papyrus' hand in case either of them had gotten themselves lost.

 _"hey, pap?"_

 **"Yes?"**

 _"do you really think this treasure is worth making friends over?"_

 **"Pffft, didn't we talk about this?"** Papyrus asked, giving his brother an odd look. Sans continued to look ahead, _"well...we're friends and you never had to give me anything, right?"_

 **"We're brothers, of course you wouldn't expect anything from me!"** Papyrus replied. His brother turned his head, though all Papyrus could see were his pupils.

 _"either way, i'm pretty sure most people wouldn't expect you to give them something to be their friend..."_ The skeleton chuckled nervously, _"though i'm not really sure how it all works, myself."_

 **"And you say you're the smart one,"** Papyrus teased.

 _"well...what can i say? i'm **brainless**!"_

 **"Hey, you promised you wouldn't make any more jokes!**

 _"i lied,"_ Sans replied, giving Papyrus the widest grin he could do. Papyrus groaned, but he held himself back from yelling at his brother. It was just best to keep going.

* * *

 _ **Well that was fun~!**_

 _ **I'll try putting up the last chapter later.**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**Finally, we make it to the last chapter.**_

 ** _Just a warning, it can get pretty violent in this chapter. Just saying...  
_**

* * *

After going deeper into the cavern and enduring a few burns on their clothes, the two brothers finally made it into a small room. There were large rocks sitting in random places, small pools of magma sat near the walls. A single piece of paper sat on the floor...but other then that, there wasn't much else here.

Papyrus walked over to the paper and picked it up. He tried to squint, but it was too hard to read. **"I think it says we're falling on something."**

 _"what?"_ Sans was skeptical, he snatched the paper away from Papyrus' hands. _"lemme see that!"_

Sans tried to read the paper, the note looked like it was just scribbled on. Nonetheless, the young skeleton read it the best that he could.

"So you losers actually fell for it..."

 **"C'mon, Sans...what does it say?"**

Sans' bones rattled, his pupils disappearing from his eye sockets. _"it means we've..."_

The skeleton's attention turned to a nearby rock. He could see bullets forming into orbs and fireballs, they were heading towards Papyrus.

 _"LOOK OUT!"_

Papyrus was pushed onto the ground as Sans took the hits for his brother. The younger skeleton landed with a hard "thud".

 **"Ow..."** Papyrus sat up as he rubbed his skull, he felt a small crack form on his jaw. He looked over at Sans, glaring. **"WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"**

Sans didn't say anything, Papyrus was beginning to worry. He started to shake his brother by the shoulder. **"C'MON, SANS! NOW'S NOT THE TIME TO NAP!"**

Papyrus turned his brother onto his back. One of the cracks on his head had extended to his right eye socket, his ulna and tibia was cracked while his radius appeared to have snapped in two. Papyrus checked on his brother, he was down to 1 hp, again. He was worried. He was certain that Sans was in pain, but he didn't know what to do.

"Whoops..."

Ricky and Sclara had peaked out from behind the rocks. Sclara had a hand over her mouth, "I don't think we were supposed to hit Brittles."

"Eh..." Ricky shrugged his shoulders. "I'm sure he'll be fine..."

 **"No, he's not fine!"** Papyrus yelled as he stood protectively in front of his brother. Ricky let out a hoarse laugh. "Don't worry, we're not gonna hurt him anymore then we did just now!"

Papyrus' soul began to glow, as did Ricky and Sclara's souls. The skeleton began to tremble in fear.

"But..." Ricky had an unpleasant smile on his face, "You'll be a lot of fun to pick on!"

Fireballs began blow into Papyrus' direction. Normally he would run away in a situation like this. However, he turned his back on the monsters, shielding his brother from any further harm.

"Aw...come on, Papyrus," Sclara teased, "I would've thought that you hated being the shield~!"

Papyrus kept his eye sockets shut as the two monsters behind him continued to attack him. He should've listened to Sans, he should've just stayed at home and away from these bullies...and yet here he was, helplessly trying to protect his brother while he was getting beaten to dust...

...But no matter what, he HAD to protect his brother, he wasn't willing to let him die. Why did these two always pick on the weaker monsters? Was it just for fun? Do they see joy in hurting others? Either way, it angered Papyrus more then anything. He was seething with rage.

Papyrus felt something awakening inside of him, his eye sockets began to glow a red-orange color.

The skeleton stood up, facing the two monsters in a trance-like state. Anger was present in his expression.

"Look, Sclara...Rattles is finally facin' up to us!" Ricky teased as he and Sclara began to laugh.

 **"NYAAAAAAAAAARGH!"**

Papyrus began to attack, a barrage of bones headed for the two monsters. Ricky was able to dodge them perfectly, but Sclara had trouble trying to keep up with him.

"Ha, is that the best you've got!" Ricky teased, "I've seen Froggits that were tougher then you!"

Papyrus summoned a bone in his hand. He swung at Ricky, bruising his left cheek. The dragon snarled, spitting out one of his fangs. He swung his tail at Papyrus, hitting him in the rib cage. Taken aback, Papyrus extended his arm, turning Ricky's soul blue as he threw the dragon against the wall.

Before Papyrus could hit Ricky again, he felt Sclara jump onto his shoulders, shielding his eye sockets. "You've seen enough!"

The skeleton swung blindly, he couldn't tell where he was going. He suddenly felt himself being tackled onto the ground by Ricky. The weight of the dragon caused two of Papyrus' ribs to crack. He hissed in pain, but he couldn't give up, now!

Using his blue magic, Papyrus threw Ricky near a rock. Afterwards, he sat up, shaking Sclara off his back. The Astigmatism cackled in amusement. "You're a lot tougher then you look, I'll give you that!"

Papyrus tried to hit Sclara, the bone only managed to brush against one of her horns. "Wow, I've never seen you so riled up, before!"

 **"Shut up!"** Papyrus yelled, knocking Sclara off her feet. The monster cackled as she sat back up, a small bruise was sitting over her eye. "Is that all you've got!?"

While Papyrus was busy fighting Sclara, Ricky sat with his back against the rock. He examined the area to see if he could bring the skeleton's defenses down. His eyes focused on Sans, the older skeleton was still unconsious. Upon seeing this, the dragon felt a grin creep onto his face.

Papyrus was summoning bones from the ground as he continued to fight. He managed to knock Sclara back a few feet. The Astigmatism fought back by summoning her orbs. Papyrus shielded himself, covering his skull with his arms.

"Hey, Papyrus!"

The skeleton turned his head. Googly-eyes formed in his sockets as he saw Ricky holding Sans by his spine. He could see a few ribs fall out from his night shirt. His tibia looked like it could snap at any moment.

Panicking, Papyrus tried to run over to the two monsters. **"SANS!"**

"Ah!" A flame formed in Ricky's other hand, bringing it close to the unconscious skeleton. "One more step and your brother gets it."

Papyrus didn't know what to do, now. He needed to protect his brother, but he felt weary. If he tried anything, he could also end up turning his own brother into dust...but if he doesn't try anything, there was no guarantee that Sans would be safe. He began to think: What would their father do in this situation?

"Don't you think that's a bit much?"

Papyrus turned his head, he was surprised to hear Sclara, of all people, say something like that.

Ricky tilted his head. "Really? 'Cause I'm having fun with this!"

"Oh, shut up!" Sclara yelled, "We weren't even supposed to hurt Brittles to begin with, and you're just gonna kill him off? I may be a bully, but at least I know when enough's enough!"

"I-it's not like I was actually going to kill him," Ricky muttered as he dropped Sans onto the floor. Papyrus ran over to his brother and held him tightly. Tears were streaming down the skeleton's face.

Sclara continued to glare at Ricky, she didn't seem to believe him. Ricky sighed in defeat, giving Papyrus a nasty look before leaving the cave.

Once Ricky was gone, Sclara turned to Papyrus, opening her mouth to reveal her eye. "This'll probably be the nicest you'll ever get to see me. Next time we see you, we'll be messin' with ya, all over again!"

Sclara left the cave, leaving the two skeletons behind. Papyrus was stunned...Maybe these bullies did have some good in them, after all...They're just afraid to show it.

Papyrus decided to examine Sans, again. His tibia had snapped from being dropped. The younger skeleton took his scarf off and wrapped it around Sans' arm, hoping it would at least keep his ulna intact until they were out of the cave. He picked up his brother's ribs and a part of his radius and tibia. Afterwards, he began to carry Sans onto his back.

 **"Come on, Sans...we've gotta get out of here!"**

* * *

Once Papyrus managed to leave the cave, he carried his brother all the way back to New Home. Unfortunately, not only was their father waiting to scold them, he almost had a panic attack upon seeing the condition they were in. He had to take them to a hospital so their fractures could be treated.

It was almost 6:00 in the morning, Papyrus was sitting on a table. His shirt was off, revealing the bandages on two of his ribs. The crack on his jaw was gone, it was able to heal using simple healing magic.

The skeleton kicked his legs impatiently, he saw his father walk in, keeping a calm yet stern expression. His apprentice followed him into the room. A small yellow dinosaur, if Papyrus wasn't mistaken. She had a red and green sweater in her claws.

She handed the sweater to Papyrus before turning to Gaster. "A-anything else you need me to do, sir?"

(That will do, Alphys), Gaster signed, (Why not talk to some of your friends for now? I'll see you at the lab, later.)

"O-OK," The dinosaur began to head out of the room, walking by the two skeletons. "Excuse me!"

Once the dinosaur left, Gaster turned his attention to Papyrus. He sat down in a nearby chair, clasping his hands together over his femurs.

(Now, Papyrus...tell me exactly what happened!)

Papyrus started putting his sweater on, avoiding eye contact with his father. **"W-well, I-"**

"Papyrus..."

The young skeleton jumped as he heard his father's raspy voice. He started using sign language, again. (Look at me when you're talking!)

 **"U-um..."** Papyrus tried to keep himself from rattling. As much as he loved his father, he was scary when he got mad...Very scary.

 **"W-well, Ricky and Sclara said that there was a treasure hiding inside a cave somewhere in Hotland. Sans thought it was a bad idea, but I made him come with me anyways. Next thing that happens, they ended up hurting Sans and, well..."** Papyrus looked down at his feet, trying to hold back his tears. **"It's all my fault...I'm sorry!"**

Gaster sat up from his chair, he began to pet the smaller skeleton's head. He had a solemn look on his face.

(What you did is very foolish, you know. If you hadn't have brought him back here sooner, he certainly would've "fallen down". You wouldn't want that, would you?)

Papyrus shook his head as he continued to look down at his feet. **"No, sir..."**

Gaster started wiping away Papyrus' tears with his thumb. Afterwards, he gently placed his forehead on his son's skull. The young skeleton started to calm down, closing his eye sockets momentarily. This always seemed to calm skeletons down for some reason.

Gaster sat up once Papyrus opened his eye sockets, he began to sign using his hands like always. (You two are both grounded, there is no avoiding that...). The elder skeleton started to smile, (...but, the two of you are safe, and that's what matters!)

 **"W-wait, what about Ricky and Sclara?"**

(I'll be sure to talk to their families about all this later), Gaster signed. (In the meantime, why not talk to your brother? He should be in the floor above this one.)

Gaster grabbed Papyrus' hand and started leading him upstairs. Doctors walked by them, carrying on with their jobs like always. When they arrived in the room Sans was in, Papyrus could see his brother sitting in a hospital bed. He was reading a comic book. He had bandages wrapped around his right eye socket, his arm had a cast over it. Though he couldn't see them, it was safe to assume that he had bandages on his leg and ribs, as well. His other arm was attached to an IV drip.

"Comic Sans!"

 _"hm?"_ Sans looked up at his father, a look of confusion was on his face.

(I'll be leaving you two alone for a while,) Gaster signed, (Be sure to call me or one of the nurses if you need anything. All right?)

The twin skeletons nodded as Gaster left the room, Papyrus grabbed a chair and pulled it next to his brother's bed. He continued to look down at the floor.

 _"what's wrong, pap?"_ Sans asked curiously, like nothing was wrong.

 **"...This is all my fault,"** Papyrus said in a monotone voice. **"If I'd listen to you before, none of this would've happened!"**

 _"hey, don't beat yourself up over it,"_ Sans said in an attempt to cheer up his brother. _"i mean, i'd say i've been through worse, but..."_

Papyrus let out a depressed sigh. Sans tried to think of something else to say, anything to try and keep his brother happy.

 _"c'mon, papyrus...there has to be something good about all this!"_

 **"...Well...there is one thing..."**

Sans cocked his head to the side, he seemed confused.

 **"While I was trying to protect you, I learned how to do this!"**

A bone appeared in Papyrus' hand, causing his brother to stare in shock.

 _"oh, wow..."_ Sans muttered. _"y-you mean your magic finally awakened!?"_

 **"Hey, yeah..."** Papyrus began to smile, feeling proud about himself. **"I guess it did and I didn't even realize it...all because I wanted to protect you!"**

 _"th-that's so cool..."_ Sans was awestruck, he practically had stars in his eye sockets. _"and it's all because you were trying to protect me?"_

 **"Nyeh heh heh..."** Papyrus let out a chuckle in amusement. " **And you know, Sans...I think those bullies might have some good in them, after all."**

 _"er...if you say so,"_ Sans said, feeling slightly uneasy. _"but still, you could probably be good enough to join the royal guard one day."_

 **"Do you really think so?"** Papyrus asked excitedly. Sans shrugged in response. _"sure, why not?"_

 **"Oh my god, the thought of protecting everybody...Especially the king is making me excited, I'm like a little white dog waiting for a bone,"** Papyrus yelled, **"And maybe then...I'll be popular enough to make all kinds of cool friends!"**

 _"take it easy there, fido!"_ Sans said in a stern voice. Papyrus sighed, but he continued to smile. **"Well, I guess for now, I'm stuck with only having my brother as a cool friend...well, you and Fluffy Bunny, anyway."**

 _"whatever you say, papyrus,"_ Sans teased. _"anyway, do ya wanna check out this comic? one of the doctors gave it to me."_

 **"Oh, sure,"** Papyrus said happily. His brother tapped the space next to him, _"then come on!"_

Papyrus climbed on the bed as he check out his brother's comic, "The Adventures of Space Dog". The duo began to read aloud to each other, despite Papyrus having a hard time reading the comic. They would use some of the stupidest voices they could come up with. While Papyrus did want to make more friends, he was certainly all right spending time with his best friend.

His brother, Sans.

* * *

 _ **Ehehe...While I planned to have this be a bit less dramatic, I'm at least happy with how this ended.**_

 _ **And hey, who wouldn't want to be Papyrus' friend?**_


End file.
